'Saw 8' Will Be Called 'Jigsaw'

The Saw franchise has a new name: one that will be very familiar to fans of the previous seven horror films.Lionsgate has confirmed that Saw 8, which had been tentatively titled Saw: Legacy, will now be called Jigsaw. The announcement was accompanied by this title treatment.

(Credit: Lionsgate)

According to the horror website Bloody Disgusting, Jigsaw was the original title for the first Saw in 2004. Does this mean that the franchise is starting fresh, perhaps with a new Jigsaw Killer? The sadistic trap-setter played by Tobin Bell died in Saw III (2006), but has remained the films’ central character through a combination of flashbacks and copycat “apprentice” murderers. Since 2010’s Saw 3D was subtitled The Final Chapter, it would make sense for directors Michael and Peter Spierig (the sibling team billed as “The Spierig Brothers” is best known for their 2010 vampire film Daybreakers) to take the full reboot approach. The film’s official synopsis, however, sounds much like the previous films: dead bodies “turning up around the city,” with the M.O. pointing to the long-dead John Kramer, a.k.a. you-know-who. And Bloody Disgusting reveals that Bell will appear in the film “in some capacity,” though previous stars Costas Mandylor and Cary Elwes will not. Jigsaw opens in theaters on Oct. 27, 2017.